96 C-4 W/ 97K miles: 10W-30 or 20-50 Syn?
01-09-2011, 01:58 PM
#1
1st Gear
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96 C-4 W/ 97K miles: 10W-30 or 20-50 Syn?
I realize this must be one of the most milked/overworked questions the forum can tolerate. So, if I might beg your indulgence, I just bought this car and the previous owner ran Mobil1 20-50. I know when I take it to the stealer/dealer, they will gripe because I am insisting on a different weight. So, I thank you all in advance for your sage wisdom.
Best Regards,
Buck
Best Regards,
Buck
01-09-2011, 03:57 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
Owners manual says to use 5W30 or 10W30 meeting GM spec GM4718M.
If the previous owner was running 20W50 on purpose, he is very old-school and was either running it hard or it has an oil consumption related issue.
If the previous owner was running 20W50 on purpose, he is very old-school and was either running it hard or it has an oil consumption related issue.
01-09-2011, 04:01 PM
#6
Race Director
01-09-2011, 04:06 PM
#7
Safety Car
As others have said the factory recommends 5w30 Mobil1, which I have used to date..
01-09-2011, 05:44 PM
#9
Race Director
The only difference between 5W and 0W is when cold. There is no difference once it comes up to temp so unless you are saying you get better gas mileage for the first 5 miles of every trip there will be absolutely zero difference.
From AMSOIL's website:
...for example, a 5W-30. "W" means winter. In winter weather the 0W oil will flow like a 0W oil, and the 5W will flow like a 5W oil and a 10W will flow like a 10W oil just until the engine warms up. In order to understand the differences you must first understand that the numerical values given to these various weight oils are strictly empirical numbers. For example, 0W does not mean that the oil has no weight. It is simply an assigned number to compare with another assigned number such as 0W compared with 10W. That is one of the reasons why we say it is strictly an empirical number.
In order to determine the differences between the three oils you have to look at the kinematic viscosity of each lubricant. The kinematic viscosity is essentially the amount of time, in centistokes, that it takes for a specified volume of the lubricant to flow through a fixed diameter orifice at a given temperature.
Let's compare the kinematic viscosity of the three AMSOIL lubricants:
* AMSOIL 0W-30 is 57.3 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.3 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 5W-30 is 59.5 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 10W-30 is 66.1 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
Here is the important part.
As you can see from the data above the kinematic viscosities are extremely close. Therefore, whether you use the 0W-30 5W-30 or the 10W-30 is strictly a matter of choice. With the small differences in kinematic viscosity you would be hard-pressed to detect these differences on initial engine start-up without specialized engine test equipment.
In order to determine the differences between the three oils you have to look at the kinematic viscosity of each lubricant. The kinematic viscosity is essentially the amount of time, in centistokes, that it takes for a specified volume of the lubricant to flow through a fixed diameter orifice at a given temperature.
Let's compare the kinematic viscosity of the three AMSOIL lubricants:
* AMSOIL 0W-30 is 57.3 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.3 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 5W-30 is 59.5 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
* AMSOIL 10W-30 is 66.1 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
Here is the important part.
As you can see from the data above the kinematic viscosities are extremely close. Therefore, whether you use the 0W-30 5W-30 or the 10W-30 is strictly a matter of choice. With the small differences in kinematic viscosity you would be hard-pressed to detect these differences on initial engine start-up without specialized engine test equipment.
Last edited by RedLS1GTO; 01-09-2011 at 05:48 PM.
01-09-2011, 06:51 PM
#10
Le Mans Master
I agree.
However, in the winter here it takes mine more like 15 or 20 miles for it to come up to final oil temp. I can also see it in the oil pressure when it it cold it is higher and as it warms up it comes down.
That first 15 or 20 miles before and after work make a difference in my gas mileage too. I am guessing 2 or 3 mpg.
I have been using 5W30 and thinking about 0W30 for the winter.
01-09-2011, 08:21 PM
#11
Instructor
So the bottom rating is at 40 deg C which is 104 deg F and the top 100 deg C which is 212 deg F. Do you know what the story is as it gets colder, like 10 deg f? Is there much difference in their relative performance at that temp? I always thought that the lower weighting was for a colder temp, something that would correspond to winter starting, like how the oil is sort of gluey and pours in strings as you finish pouring the quart if it's like 10 - 20 degrees F out when normal oil pours like STP (uses to pump gas & we kept the oil out at the island for point of sale).
01-09-2011, 08:34 PM
#12
1996 owners manual lists 5W-30 for temp range from below zero degrees F to above 100 degrees F. It lists 10W-30 for temp range of zero degrees F to above 100 degrees F. It also states "DO NOT USE SAE 20W-50 OR ANY OTHER GRADE OIL NOT RECOMMENDED".
01-10-2011, 07:24 AM
#13
Safety Car
Back in the summer when I first changed to 0w30 the difference was less, but still 1-2mpg improvement
And most of my driving involves trips of 20 miles or more...
So my thinking is the 0w30 on the Vette might show a slight improvement in mpg, but more importantly also a slight improvement in performance at all temperature ranges..
No big deal whatever...just my thoughts
BTW has anyone tried Castrol Edge in 5W30......their ads sure sound impressive...8X better than Mobil1
Last edited by LT4BUD; 01-10-2011 at 08:27 AM.
End of story.
